The American Hotel
A Cellar Worth the Drive to Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor · Sag Harbor · Seasonal, European · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into The American Hotel feels like stumbling into a serious collector's private cellar — except it's open to the public and someone will bring the bottle to your table. The wine list is a tome, not a menu, and the room's 18th-century bones make it feel entirely appropriate that some of these bottles have been aging here longer than most restaurants have existed.
Selection Deep Dive
With somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 selections, this list earns its Wine Spectator Grand Award — held continuously since 1981 — without argument. Bordeaux is the backbone: Château Margaux, Cheval Blanc, and Pétrus all show up in force, with serious vertical depth you simply don't expect outside of a major city. Burgundy is equally well-stocked, with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti anchoring the top end, while California gets its due via Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Opus One, and Kistler Chardonnay. The genuinely pleasant surprise is the Long Island representation — Bedell Cellars and Wolffer Estate give locals and curious visitors a reason to explore what's growing in their own backyard, and the list treats those bottles with the same seriousness as the Rhône's Chapoutier Hermitage or Giacomo Conterno's Barolo.
By the Glass
The by-the-glass program runs 12 to 20 options, which is a respectable spread for a list this size. Expect the pours to lean classical and safe — this is a room that rewards commitment to a bottle — but the glass program is a reasonable entry point if you're not ready to plunge into the deep end. Rotation appears limited; this list feels more curated-and-settled than actively refreshed.
Bedell Cellars (Long Island) — $60–$80 range
When you're surrounded by Pétrus and DRC, the local Long Island pour is easy to overlook — which is exactly why you should order it. Bedell makes serious, underpriced wine from Merlot and Cab Franc just miles away, and at this price point on a list that skews heavily toward three-figure bottles, it drinks well above its weight and tells a story unique to where you're sitting.
Chapoutier Hermitage (Rhône)
The Bordeaux and Burgundy names dominate the conversation here, which means the Rhône section tends to get overlooked. Chapoutier's Hermitage is one of the great expressions of Syrah on earth — structured, smoky, and age-worthy — and on a list this deep, there's a real chance older vintages are lurking at prices that haven't caught up to their current market value.
Opus One
A fine wine, no question, but Opus One is one of the most widely distributed luxury bottles in America — you'll find it on every upscale list from here to LAX. At this restaurant, with this cellar, you can do so much more interesting. The markup on high-visibility California icons like this tends to be the steepest on any list, and the opportunity cost of ordering it here, surrounded by genuine rarities, is high.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo + Oysters
Unconventional? Sure. But the salinity of fresh East End oysters and the iron-edged, tar-and-rose complexity of a Conterno Barolo create one of those contrast pairings that actually holds up. The wine's firm tannins and bright acidity cut through the brine cleanly, and the umami depth in both directions makes it a conversation starter at the table.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The American Hotel is the rare restaurant where the wine list is genuinely the main event — a Grand Award cellar in a historic Sag Harbor inn, doing what very few places outside New York City can pull off. If you're serious about wine and find yourself on the East End, this is not optional.
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